Mumbai Mirror

• Bandra resident Arun Ferreira’s narcoanalysis report makes the sensational claim. Sena dismisses narco tests as “childish”

Mumbai, Aug 8: The narcoanalysis report of suspected naxalite Arun Ferreira has thrown up revelations that could leave the prosecution rather flummoxed.

So far two narco tests have been conducted on Bandra resident Ferreira who was arrested from Nagpur on May 8, 2007 for suspected naxal activities. The last one by Bangalore Forensic Science Laboratory was in September last year and has been cited as ground to keep Ferreira in custody for prosecution.  

According to this narco report, a copy of which is with this newspaper, when Ferreira was asked about the funding of CPI(Maoist) activity in Mumbai, he said Bal Thackeray, the Shiv Sena, and the BJP student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had funded naxal activities in the city.

Specifically, the report signed by FSL assistant director Dr Malini Subramaniam says: “...He (Ferreira) said political parties will never support the naxal organisations. ABVP has given them funds for their activities. Bal Thakeray (sic) and his party Shiv Sena members had given them funds for their activities in Mumbai.”

The sensational revelation buried between other disclosures like Ferreira's position in the CPI (Maoist) and how he had never participated in any of the jungle Naxalite programme has left cops somewhat red-faced. “Such revelations are a matter of investigation. But one has to understand that narco reports are not admissible in the court as evidence. They only help in the investigations.

Everything revealed in the test may not be true,” said Pradip Deshpande, superintendent of police, Gondia, who had taken custody of Ferreira for his alleged naxalite activities in the district, and to whom a copy of Ferreira's narco report was sent. In fact the case against Ferreira that is coming up for trial is for his role in the Gondia case.

Arun Ferreira

When contacted Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said there was no question of the Sena supporting any group promoting terrorism. Questioning the legality of narcoanalysis tests he termed them as childish. "A drugged person can say anything why should we give it credence?"

Ferreira's lawyer in Nagpur, Surendra Gadling said, "The police keep citing narco reports in the court to get custody extended saying these revelations need time to investigate. We will raise the issue whether these (Ferreira's comments about Thackeray and Shiv Sena and ABVP's role) revelations were also investigated."

While Bangalore FSL assistant director Dr Malini Subramanium was not available for quote, an official from the institution said on condition of anonymity, "We have submitted a report to the police. Now it is the prerogative of the police to investigate the revelations. We are not a competent authority to comment."

Some other  Revelations

The report also claims Ferreira having made revelations about his association with Vishnu and Vernon, two top suspected naxal leaders, who were arrested from the city in August last year.

Ferreira was arrested last year in Nagpur for alleged naxal activities
 
He has also revealed several names of naxal operatives in the state and city as also details of naxal operations in the city.

He has said, the report claims, that he was in constant touch with organisations like Vidyarthi Pragati Sangathan, Nav jawan Bharati Sabha, Niwala Hak Suraksha Samiti and other human rights organisations and was helping them raise funds for their activities.

He said people would come to committee office and would give them Rs 10-50 from their salary to help them carry out their activities.

He also said that he used to meet Vishnu at Hotel Pallavi in Bandra, says the report.

Another revelation made during this narco analysis was that the naxalites were infiltrating the network of Mumbai's dabbawallas. However, police investigations later showed that the term dabbawala was actually a code for naxal conduits in Chandrapur.